Columns

In days gone by, the Calcasieu River was jammed from top to bottom with pine logs in the early days of June. This was the high-water month, when logs could easily be floated to nearly a dozen lumber mills that ringed Lake Charles.
It was a money month for men who cut timber and the month when mill operators stocked up on the logs they would turn to lumber, at a handsome profit.

Armand Brinkhaus was a memorable member of the Louisiana legislature in a time when the capitol was filled with colorful folk. He was also one of its most effective members.
He served in the legislature for 30 years, chairing some of its most important and powerful committees. But he never forgot his roots and the “little people” he represented.

President Barack Obama has finally had it with Russia. It only took eight years of cold reality -- topped off by the Russian interference in the November election -- to make the outgoing president almost cleareyed about the Kremlin.

Not that Obama is ready to admit error. Asked by George Stephanopoulos on Sunday if he underestimated Vladimir Putin, Obama said no, he had only missed how cyberhacking could be used to meddle in our electoral system -- in other words, it was a technical mistake, rather than a fundamental misassessment of a foreign adversary.